Consumer products are commonly sold in retail stores that market such products by placing them on store shelves. Many consumer products are free-standing (e.g., cereal boxes, cans of soup) such that they do not require a support apparatus to be placed on a shelf. Other consumer products, however, are not substantially free-standing. Of these non-substantially-free-standing products, some of them require a particular orientation on the shelf (e.g., packages that have oriented surface indicia). One particular example of interest is disposable diapers.
Many disposable diapers are packaged in flexible film (e.g., low density polyethylene). Once packaged, the resulting package shape is generally rectangular in shape. Such rectangular shapes typically have a larger front and rear surface which provides the most surface area for the placement of surface indicia (e.g., graphics, text, pictures). However, basic scientific principles (e.g., center of gravity) dictate that the rectangular shape package is most stabile when placed on one of these larger surfaces. Thus, the surface indicia is not seen by the consumer, especially when one package is stacked on top of another. If the consumer can not find their desired product on the shelf amongst a multitude of stacked packages, then the consumer is unlikely to purchase your product. Furthermore, when the consumer searches through the several stacks, they are more likely to mix the product versions with one another. In addition to the consumer's frustrations, the store clerk has similar difficulties when attempting to determine reorder amounts and proper product placement.
In an attempt to solve such problems, some retailers have incorporated the use of shelf tray apparatus. While the use of such devices help to provide vertical support for disposable diapers, they have many drawbacks including (a) the need to constantly move forward remaining disposable diapers once a consumer removes a leading disposable diaper from the shelf and (b) the same shelf tray apparatus is repeatedly used and thus subsequently damaged over time.
What is needed is individual packaging for disposable diapers that provides upright support. Further, what is needed is individual packaging for disposable diapers that is integral to the diapers themselves such that said packaging is also carried away by the consumer.